This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
By putting Morocco in the spotlight, the Paris Book Festival (April 11-13) famous “La Force” and “La Vivacity” of its literary and editorial scene, said, on Wednesday evening, the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, on the eve of the official inauguration of this major literary event in the Grand Palais in the French capital. “As of tomorrow, we will celebrate strength, in particular the liveliness of the Moroccan editorial literary scene,” said Dati who was expressed alongside the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, during a reception offered in honor of the Kingdom.
The reception, which took place in the presence in particular of the embassy of Morocco in France Samira Sitail, brought together in the prestigious salons of the French Ministry of Culture of the cultural figures of the two countries, which distinguished themselves in various fields of creation, including authors, publishers, intellectuals, actors or even musicians, and many other Moroccan and French personalities.
“This reception is placed under the sign, obviously, of the cultural friendship which unites France and the Kingdom of Morocco (…) and this evening, I wish to expand the invitation to all of those, all cultural sectors and all generations combined, which bring the cultural relationship between our two countries to life,” said Dati to the address of these “daily actors of this extraordinary vitality of the Creation culture that brings together our two countries ”.
The French Minister praised Morocco’s commitment to this sector, with attention and “flawless” support that King Mohammed VI carries to cultural issues, recalling that in last October the King and French President Emmanuel Macron decided to “write together a new book in our common history”.
“This commitment was placed under the sign of an exceptional partnership,” said Ms. Dati, who notes that this exception is “largely strengthened today”, rejoicing that culture was “at the heart of this historic moment”.
Witness, she said, the cultural roadmap signed on this occasion, citing among the now “clearly identified” priorities, the cultural and creative industries, and “the book obviously”, but also libraries, Francophonie, Artificial Intelligence, Heritage and Museums, exchanges between artists and culture professionals, art professions.
Drive by the same enthusiasm of strengthening “our links and building together the community”, the Minister believes that this exceptional cultural relationship also allows “the emergence of a new cultural scene, a Trait-d’Union scene, the Franco-Moroccan cultural scene”.
She quotes among her assets, “youth” with “immense” aspirations. “It is to her that we want to contact in priority, as a sign of confidence in the future and to highlight the immense talent of the new generation,” said the minister who invited the young Moroccan pianist Nour Ayadi established in Paris to perform before the guests.
Saying “proud” of its Moroccan roots, Ms. Dati also perceives immigration as “an extraordinary chance for France, but also for Morocco”, specifying that next year will be marked by the launch in May of the Mediterranean season organized by the French Institute, an event for which it calls Moroccan cultural actors to come in large numbers, especially as “Morocco will be one of the major countries.”
And to conclude “our ambition is great, simply commensurate with the links between our two countries”.
For his part, Mr. Bensaid welcomed the initiative of the Paris Book Festival to put Morocco in the spotlight, an event which celebrates both the Book and Franco-Moroccan friendship and which embodies “the unwavering link” based on “the community of languages but also on the sharing of differences and the dialogue of memories”.
In this regard, the Minister considers that in a world in turbulence, Franco-Moroccan friendship is more than a model, it is the incarnation of another possible future: “Between the two banks of the Mediterranean, to say that memory and the past must not divide but bring together; Between Europe and Africa, to show that demographic and migration issues can be transformed into investment opportunities in what we have most dear, culture and youth; And also for the rest of the world, to show how differences, languages, beliefs, memorial stories, can become the occasion for creation, rather than conflict ”.
Mr. Bensaid took this opportunity to highlight the efforts of Morocco who, under the aegis of King Mohammed VI, chose culture as “the base of emergence”.
“For the past twenty-five years now, our country has engaged in a demanding path, that of growth in sustainability, economic development in social inclusion, democratization within the framework of the consolidation of institutions and the enlargement of participation, at all levels, local, regional and national”, he said, ensuring that in this Moroccan model of emergence, culture is the key: “factor of social inclusion and consolidation and consolidation Collective links, vector of economic growth through cultural and creative industries, and living home for public debate and citizen participation ”.
Note that France is associated with this vision through its desire to write “a common book” with Morocco, the Minister concludes that this Franco-Moroccan friendship “is therefore a vision proposed to our two continents, the possibility of another story, another imaginary configuration, which is passionate but serene, rooted in the past but without resentment, and resolutely committed in a future of friendship and culture”.
